French Restaurant Review: Anette, Paris

A casual dining spot in the chic Saint-Germain-des-Près, Anette serves perfect ‘Rive Gauche’ cuisine.

Before I introduce you to Annette, I’ll stop to say that the stylishly renovated Le Grand Hôtel Cayré, where this restaurant is located, not only has one of the best locations in Paris – steps from the rue du Bac on the Boulevard Raspail – but its handsome and very comfortable rooms are exceptionally good value for money. So if you love Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Left Bank, this is a perfect hotel for you.

Even if you’re not staying at Le Grand Hôtel Cayré, the chef Bruno Brangea, who previously worked for Alain Ducasse and who won the recent world championships for one of my all-time favourite dishes, œufs en meurette – poached eggs in a red wine sauce with onions, bacon and mushrooms – has written a wonderful casual dining menu. It’s a great place to pop in to after a visit to the Musée d’Orsay, for example, or for a cosy supper after a shopping session at Le Bon Marché department store down the street.

Sort of a hybrid bistro-brasserie, Annette is named for the intriguing Annette Kolb, a Franco-German writer and pacifist who lived at the hotel for 17 years after arriving in 1944. The handsome dining room is a chic mélange of timeless Left Bank style with modern accessories and bright colours so that it’s at once comfortably familiar and visually lively. I dined here with Adelaide, a friend who’s lived on the Rue du Bac all of her life, and she was terribly curious about the new restaurant, as much as I was terribly curious to see what she’d make of it. After studying the menu, she approvingly pronounced it “très Rive Gauche”, or precisely what the locals like to eat in this worldly quartier of Paris. This is exactly what I thought, too, having once lived on the Rue du Bac for ten years.

Adelaide started with cooked and raw beetroot with burrata and a truffle vinaigrette, which was a lovely mixture of tastes and textures, and I couldn’t resist the quail and dried fruits pâté en croûte by the brilliant charcutier Arnaud Nicolas, making a mental note to myself that quail pairs passionately with dried figs. Next, breaded fried whiting with tartare sauce and mashed potatoes for Adelaide – “such a treat, since this is just beautifully done and a dish I’d never dream of cooking for myself” – and some soothing winter comfort food for me in the form of Norman scallops with trompette de la mort mushrooms and butternut squash purée.

I couldn’t resist the plate of cheeses, including a sublime Comté from nearby Maison Barthélemy, one of the best cheesemongers in Paris, while the chocolate mousse served across the table brought our conversation to a halt due to distracted delectation. Annette, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, is a very good and very useful restaurant.

Annette, Le Grand Hôtel Cayré, 4 Boulevard Raspail, 7th arrondissement, Paris.

Tel. (33) 01 45 44 37 13,

Average à la carte €70.

From France Today Magazine